Our employee of the month is Alex Garber from California!
Alex is dedicated to providing super engaging classes for his students. Through his lessons, he communicates how exciting and fun chess is. He is very responsive, and communicates important information in a timely manner. We love having Alex on the team!
Alex, thank you for being such an outstanding employee and teacher!
To show our appreciation for your dedication and hard work – please check your email this week for a special gift from us.
Cheсk out our interview with Alex below:
1. Who are you, where do you come from, where are you going?
My name is Alex, I love chess and everything to do with chess. Love teaching and working with young learners, watching them soak up knowledge and put it to use over the chessboard to win games.
2. How long have you been teaching with Chess Wizards?
I’ve been with Chess Wizards for almost a year now.
3. What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned since you started teaching?
Story telling is huge and spelling out the moral of a lesson is important, so they can tell their parents what they have learned.
4. What is the most exciting experience you have had while playing or teaching chess?
The feeling of an audience being mesmerized by a story/lesson you tell, and the magic they discover in solving hard puzzles over the demo board or over their chessboard, delivering checkmate and winning a game in style.
5. How do you motivate your students to succeed?
By teaching to follow good principals, being patient and aware of opportunities for timely attack over the board.
6. If you could retire tomorrow and never have to worry about money again, what would you do with your time?
Exactly what I’m doing now. I would love to find the next U.S. Chess Talent (the next Bobby Fischer)
7. What’s your go-to technique for dealing with ‘handful students’?
If it gets too noisy in class, I go for my “Waterfall,Waterfall, Shhhhhhhhh…“ routine.
8. What is an unusual place you have been to?
The Dead Sea - in Israel
9. Do you have a talent that not many people know about?
Many one line zingers and dad jokes.
10. What’s your #1 teaching tip?
Keep kids curious and interested in solving interesting puzzles, and discovering “why” a solution works.
11. What is something interesting that you’re involved in, outside of Chess Wizards?
I do private lessons, and helped most of my students compete in USCF Rated Tournaments, and Scholastic Chess - where they’ve accumulated a closet full of trophies and medals.
12. If you saw a kangaroo and a chimpanzee playing chess what would you do? Who do you think would win?
I would laugh. It would be interesting and funny to see, and I hope the chimp would win (in a way we are descendants of monkeys…so I would make sense to a chimp to think more than a Kangaroo.)
13. Star Wars, Star Trek, or they’re both lame?
Neither. If it has nothing to do with Chess - I ain’t interested.
14. What do you like most about working with Chess Wizards?
To work within different schools, and interact with many kids and help them develop a love for the same game I fell in love with.